title: Electroencephalography of autoimmune limbic encephalopathy.
abstract: There is an increasing recognition of autoimmune limbic encephalopathy with the hope for earlier diagnosis and expedited and improved treatment. Although antibody testing remains the definitive clinical diagnostic feature, the presentation of a rapid dementia, behavioral changes, and seizures leads to investigation using cerebral imaging, electroencephalography, and cerebrospinal fluid to confirm the diagnosis and also to exclude similar disorders. The electroencephalographer may be asked to comment on the types of electroencephalography abnormality and provide input toward the diagnosis of limbic encephalopathy. This article reviews the literature on limbic paraneoplastic and nonparaneoplastic encephalopathies, providing descriptions and examples of the electroencephalography findings. Typically, there are patterns of slow theta and delta activity and different patterns of temporal and frontal epileptic activity.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.; and †Division of Neurosciences Critical Care, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Peter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Raoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sutter
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D020363:Limbic Encephalitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies